The Sinfulness of Cinderella Thinking

“Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.”
(Ezekiel 16:49, NIV)

Finish school, get a well-paying job, marry and have kids, take care of my family and live happily ever after!
The ‘Cinderella’ Mindset

Is the ‘Cinderella’ Mindset the mindset you have? Is this how you think – more or less? Is this your ambition in life – more or less? Well, you should re-consider if pleasing God is something you care about. It’s good to aim to provide a good life for yourself and family but this is not the extent of your responsibility as far as God is concerned.

Consider the following statement God made in Ezekiel 16:49 (NIV): “Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned”; they did not help the poor and needy. When we think about the sin of Sodom we think about homosexuality. Yes, that is certainly a sin that existed in Sodom but over here we see God saying that their sin was that there were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned. God judged them for being unconcerned about the poor! Sin is not just the bad that you do but the good that you do not do. ‘Not strengthening the hand of the poor and needy’ is considered sin by God just like arrogance and homosexuality.

Taking care of your family is a fine aspiration indeed but find somewhere in your life’s aspiration to include ‘strengthening the hand of the poor and needy’ otherwise you will be living a sinful life. In the same way that you work hard for a good future for yourself and your family, you should work hard to also help the poor. The world doesn’t judge people for not helping the poor. If you steal, you will be arrested but if you are unconcerned about the poor, no one will arrest you. It is not against human laws to be unconcerned about the poor. However, it is against God’s laws. Don’t plan your life the way that the world does. Don’t think only about yourself and your family. Make room in your life for helping the poor!